The court ruled that in five cases in which people disappeared after being detained by Russian servicemen in Chechnya, the Russian authorities' subsequent investigations were inadequate.
A total of seven men and two women went missing in Chechnya under similar circumstances in 2002-2003. A group of men in camouflage uniforms wearing balaclava masks reportedly entered the individuals' homes and abducted them.
No traces of the missing people have yet been found. Russian investigators maintain they have no additional information on the cases. However, Russian authorities have refused to present all cases of missing Chechens to the court, saying the information is classified.
Russia has been ordered to pay $76,000 in pecuniary damages, $582,000 in non-pecuniary damages and over $54,000 in legal costs.
